Some Chard Grows in Chelsea

My elementary school in Cupertino was a great place to spend the K-6 years, come to think of it.  It was walking distance (unless you're an Angelino), and it was small enough to know everyone.  Best of all, there was a huge playground and field, big enough to serve as a city park.  Many school in Cupertino have that luxury.  Looking back, however, it would have been nice if there was a garden.  Back in the 70s and 80s, however, community and school gardens were not high on the list for parents and teachers.  Organic was not in our vocabulary, and if your family didn't garden, there was plenty of produce in the local Lucky or Safeway stores.  Gardens, however, are making a huge comeback.

 

Years ago Alice Waters started gardens in Oakland and Berkeley, introducing the joys of raising your own plants and flowers to local school kids.  Now gardening is all the rage, so popular, in fact, that many gardens have a waiting list.  I am hardly a gardening expert or model advocate, but looking back, gardening should have been encouraged at schools of all levels.  True, teachers have a lot to worry about with test scoring demands and curricula that make sure no ethnic group or demographic is left behind.  Nevertheless, I see no better way to get children excited in biology and nutrition than to grow their own vegetables, herbs, and flowers, watch them grow, and then move from garden bed to cafeteria to school dance decorations.  While the trends toward more local and organic food in school kitchens are welcome, the fact is that as a society, we are far removed from our sources of food.  Not everything comes in a perfectly contoured Costco package; if kids can't get on buses to go to field trips to farms, bring the farms to the schools.

 

Last weekend in Manhattan, we were wandering around Chelsea on a Sunday afternoon when suddenly, we stumbled upon many of the small school gardens that dot the boroughs of New York.  Perhaps it was one garden saved by Bette Midler's New York Restoration Project, which keeps doing amazing work.  Back in the 1990s, Midler led the surge that prevented many of these gardens from the Rudy Guiliani administration's attempt to auction them off.  The NYRP bought about 100 of these gardens, which has allowed New Yorkers to enjoy an impressive amount of green space that other towns could only wish for.

 

This is one green revolution that needs to be ramped up.  Getting out of the house, knowing your community better, growing fresh food, and preserving open space--it's a win-win-win to me.  Plus, at a time when cities are slashing budgets, it's a great opportunity to gain more park land with almost no cost--because after all, you have engaged residents, not bored and cynical public employees, taking care of the grounds.  Keep up the great work!